Thursday, July 10, 2008

Simple Series :: Cucumbers

It’s taken almost two full seasons of boxes, but I think I’m finally getting the hang of it. One of the biggest hurdles that I had to get over was the pressure that I put on myself to use all of the vegetables in creative and elaborate ways. I would pour over cookbooks and search online for that perfect recipe to use turnips or spend half a day cooking a meal with kale. And then I hit that ‘‘ah-ha” moment when I realized that I really didn’t need to do much at all with the vegetables – I could let them do most of the work for me and allow their flavor and freshness to speak for themselves. So I calmed down a bit and started preparing more simple dishes. The Simple Series brings some of these preparations to you, focusing on one vegetable at a time. Each Simple Series includes three recipes: Simple, Simpler and Simplest and all three require only a few ingredients and minimal time in the kitchen.

Recipes, cookbooks and involved preparations still have a place in my kitchen, but it’s a more balanced (and sane) way of cooking now. The Simple Series fills in the gaps on a busy weeknight when the only thing I have time for is a quick cucumber salad.Click here to download and print a pdf of this recipe:

We selected Angelic Organics because we read an article about Farmer John and heard about the documentary "The Real Dirt on Farmer John". There's a great website where you can search for CSAs in your area: http://www.localharvest.org/

The great thing about these vegetables is that they taste so good on their own! I think this is how vegetables are supposed to taste. Most of the soil in the U.S. is so depleted of nutrients that grocery store vegetables are practically tasteless. That's why Americans typically feel the need to add so much in the way of sauces, dressings and other high-fat, high-calorie condiments. We're so lucky to be able to experience healthy vegetables the way they should be.

about 24 boxes

24 boxes is a weblog devoted to seasonal cooking with fresh, local vegetables from Angelic Organics.

Click here to purchase the 24 boxes cookbook – a collection of seasonal recipes from the blog, each focusing on a week during the box season plus a few extras for good measure! Spiral bound, full color photography, printed in the USA and hand-assembled in Chicago, Illinois. Beautiful AND usable!